Sin

December 21, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I know in politically correct circles it’s not very chic to talk about sin. After all, we’re not supposed to impose our personal values on someone else, right?

Well, I do believe in right and wrong, and the wrong is called sin. So if you are offended by me calling something sin, it would be best for you to stop reading now.

Are you still with me? Then read this: satan…incited David to sin… (1 Chronicles 21:1).

Incited means this wasn’t a straight-up fight. Sin seldom makes a bold, in-your-face attack. Sin isn’t really an ambush. It’s sort of a whispering campaign.

  • Sin is an appeal to ego
  • Sin is a half-truth
  • Sin is an attempt to be subtle
  • Sin is so innocent looking

The Bible says satan lurks like a lion in the underbrush (1 Peter 5:8).

He waits for the perfect opportunity to strike (Luke 4:13).

satan is sneaky (Genesis 3:1).

He lies (John 8:44).

He distorts the truth (Luke 4:9-11).

That’s why I cannot give sin an inch. I have to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), and pull everything into the light of The Truth (John 3:20-21).

[Check out all of these verses by clicking here]

It’s not usually the blatant sin that brings down great men and women, but the subtle. So stay on your guard. Always!

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Who Are You Talking To?

December 14, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I love team leadership. I really enjoy getting a group of creative thinkers around me to do some serious brainstorming. I find it so beneficial to seek out the counsel of some wise people who have been around for a while.

But, let’s see, who have I left off this list?

Oh, yeah, I remember now—I didn’t consult God!

Be honest: have you ever done that? Have you ever consulted with a lot of wise—even God-fearing—people, but forgotten to consult with God Himself? If you have (and I certainly have), we’re in good company.

When King David got ready to move the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, the Bible says,

David conferred with each of his officers….

How’d that work out for him? Not so good.

  • Uzzah died
  • David got mad at God
  • David got scared of God
  • The ark’s arrival in Jerusalem was delayed another three months

Then David had his “Oh yeah!” moment. When he got ready to try again, David said,

We did not inquire of God about how to do it in the prescribed manner….

So here’s my simple reminder to myself (and to you too): It’s fine to consult with others, but consult with God first.

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The Right Person For The Job

December 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Employers and pastors both have the important task of putting people into positions of responsibility. Employers do so to make their businesses more profitable; pastors do so to expand the Kingdom of God.

But employers do something that pastors often miss: They hire the right person for the job.

Check out this verse:

Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

Simply put: Kenaniah was in charge of the singing because he could sing; he could carry a tune; he had skill; his singing was pleasant to the worshippers in the tabernacle. This word skillful also implies that he knew how to teach others too.

You give someone the job because they are skillful at it. Not because their feelings would be hurt if you gave the job to someone else, not because you hope giving them the job will boost their self-esteem. This is just as true in the church as it is in the business world.

The way I read the Bible, everyone has a talent. One of the roles of a shepherd leader is to find the right place for every person’s talent. Pastors do a disservice to both the individual and to the whole church body when they give someone a job for which they do not have the God-given talent.

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What Do You Know About Leadership…

December 10, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

…and what are you doing with it?

I read an interesting verse about King David:

And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.

“David knew” reminds me of a line from Jesus’ life: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power (John 13:3).

David and Jesus both knew that their positions of leadership were God-granted. And with that knowledge, they both wanted to further expand God’s Kingdom.

They didn’t keep the power for themselves; they didn’t lord it over others; they didn’t hoard the blessings; they didn’t use their leadership for personal gain; they used their God-granted authority to serve others.

They were confidently humble leaders.

If you are in a position of leadership, it’s not for you nor is it because of you. Leadership is from God, through you, to benefit others and to expand His Kingdom.

What do you know about leadership … and what are you doing with it?

UPDATE: This is one of the seed thoughts that went into my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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A Name Change

November 24, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I was reading the biography of Jabez this morning. His whole life is told in just two verses, but what an insightful snapshot we get.

Here’s the part that stood out to me today: Jabez means one who causes pain or causes others to grieve. How would you like to go through life with a name like that? The Bible doesn’t give us the details as to why his mother gave him this name, but he seemed stuck with it. Everywhere he went throughout his life, people said,

“Hey, here comes Pain-In-The-Neck!” or

“You remind me of something bad!” or even

“Why don’t you do us all a favor and leave!”

Jabez wanted a name change, and God granted his request.

I wonder…

You can try to run from your reputation, you can try to change the way you think, you can try to act differently to see if people will treat you differently, or you can ask God to change your name.

God is in the name-changing business. And when He changes your name, it’s so much more powerful than when you try to do it.

When the Bible says, “Jabez cried out to God,” the root word means to encounter. Jabez encountered God. Jabez went face-to-face with God, and God granted his request.

If you want a new name, a new reputation, a new outlook, get face-to-face with God and He WILL grant your request.

(For some other significant name changes recorded in the Bible, check out this list.)

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Loyalty

September 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

How would you define loyalty? All of the dictionary definitions have to do with faithfulness. It’s almost implied that there is a blindness (at worst), or a dogged persistence (at best), to remain loyal to a person or to an idea. The thinking goes, “If I’m loyal to someone, like it or not, I become their Yes-man.”

But I think…

Loyalty is not telling people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.

For an example, take the prophet Nathan in the Bible. We don’t know how old he is when he steps on the scene, or even where he came from. There isn’t a clue as to his tribal ancestry or even his father’s name.

King David wanted to build a temple for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and he asked Nathan about this. Nathan immediately said, “Yes!” (kinda reinforces that idea of loyalty = Yes-man, doesn’t it?) But wait! That night, God speaks to Nathan and says, “Tell David he’s not the one to build the temple for Me.” So Nathan returns to David and loyally tells him no.

Later on, David steals another man’s wife and contrives a plan to have that man murdered on the battlefield. David thinks he’s gotten away with it until Nathan, the loyal friend, shows up to confront David with his sin. Nathan didn’t want to see David fail, but he wanted to give him a chance to confess and repent.

Near the end of David’s life, one of David’s sons, Adonijah, wanted to take the throne for himself. Many of the officials in David’s palace jumped on the bandwagon, but loyal Nathan did not. In fact, Nathan even got word to the King about Adonijah’s plans. As a result, David asked Nathan to anoint his son Solomon as king.

During David’s life, Nathan wrote David’s biography. If Nathan was just a mindless Yes-man, he could have easily left out the messy parts of David’s life. But the loyal friend wanted to show future readers that we all mess up, but God forgives and restores us when we repent.

Nathan’s name means the gift God gave or a giver. Both meanings fit this loyal man.

David was so blessed by Nathan’s loyalty that he named one of his own sons after the prophet.

Loyal friends give their friends the gift of life. They don’t let friends go down a destructive path. They don’t join with others when they attack. They remain constant, always-there, friends.

What a blessing to be called a loyal friend! And what an even greater blessing to have “Nathans” in our own lives!

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Is It Selfish To Pray For Success At Work?

October 7, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

“Dear Lord, I pray that You will help me be successful on my job today. Help me to make that sale [close that deal, get the promotion, earn the raise]. Bless me today. Amen.” All over the world today people at work are praying something similar to this. Does God notice? Is this a prayer God wants to answer?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve been wondering if asking God to bless my efforts is praying a selfish prayer.

That well-known prayer by Jabez sounds very similar, doesn’t it? “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory!” This prayer must have pleased God because the verse ends with, “And God granted his request” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

In the life of Joseph, the phrase about his on-the-job success is repeated again and again. First in Potiphar’s house, and then in prison, and then in the royal court we see the phrase “Joseph prospered” (for those of you keeping track at home, that means Joseph was a success at the office). We don’t see Joseph praying for this success, but we see him walking in it nonetheless.

But here’s the key component: it’s all about your heart attitude. In other words, it’s all about how you intend to become successful and what you plan to do with your success.

Jabez wanted to be successful so he wouldn’t be a burden to anyone else. He asked God to give him success in a way that benefitted others. So, too, with Joseph: at every mention of Joseph’s success there is a corresponding phrase like, “The Lord was with him” or “The Lord gave him success in everything he did.”

When Jabez and Joseph were successful on the job, everyone around them knew it was because they did things God’s way. And everyone around them got to share in the blessings of their successes.

Do you want success on the job? Go ahead and pray for God to “enlarge your territory” or help you to “prosper.” Then do things God’s way, and be sure to give Him the credit for your success. I believe that God wants to give you more and more on-the-job success so that He is glorified, and so that others around you recognize God’s provision.

Keep praying for success. I’m praying that for myself and for you too.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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A Powerful Prayer

June 9, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Bible study is love reading its Lover’s letters. Prayer is love keeping tryst.” —S.D. Gordon

The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity; more specifically, to you and me. But did you know that the Bible can also be used as our love letter to God?

If you’re a parent, you know how powerful it is when one of your children quote you back to you. Like when my daughter reminds me, “Dad, you said that you would….” Even if I haven’t forgotten what I said, it’s still so nice to know that she was listening to me and remembered what I promised her.

God has never, ever forgotten His word to us. But as our Heavenly Father, He loves to know that we hear His words, that we remember His promises, and that we love Him. So one of the most powerful prayers you can pray is when you pray God’s own words back to Him.

Personalized prayer based on God’s Word is a powerful prayer.

Let me give you an example. Here’s a prayer I wrote out the other day from 1 Chronicles 22:19—

Now…

There is no time to wait, I have to begin now. I cannot put it off a moment longer. It’s never an interruption of my day for me to draw closer to You, my God. Now I come to You in love.

devote…

This is not a partial commitment. I’m giving You my all. I’m laying all of me on Your altar. I’m not holding anything back. It’s all Yours, God, all of me.

your…

This is mine to give, and I’m choosing to give it to You. I’m not living for someone else; I’m not riding anyone’s coattails. I’m giving You what is mine to give. I’m giving you me.

heart…

My dreams, my passions, my desires. They’re all Yours, Heavenly Father. I reserve no passions for my own selfish pursuits, but I only have passion for You.

soul…

My inmost being—who I really am—the part of me that’s truly me is all Yours. My mind, my will, my emotions, my personality is only alive because of You.

seeking…

My longing, my soul’s craving is for You. I look for You’re everywhere and in everything. I seek You in the bird’s song, in the ocean’s roar, in the mountain’s majesty, in the midnight’s silence, in the bee’s buzz, in my children’s laughter, in my wife’s kiss, in my friend’s counsel, in Your love letter to me.

the Lord…

You are Lord over all. There is not now, nor ever will there be, anyone to take Your place in my heart.

your God…

You are mine and I am Yours. Forever. Because You loved me I love You, my God.

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God (1 Chronicles 22:19).

Use your Bible to form your own powerfully intimate prayers to the Lover of your soul.

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Success Is Going

June 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

King David is one of the most well-known characters in the Old Testament. Such incredible stories are told about him that his life can be summed up in one phrase that occurs four times in Scripture—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went (2 Samuel 8:6, 14; 1 Chronicles 18:6, 13).

When David was faced with a challenge or an enemy, he threw himself fully into meeting the enemy head-on, and he was always successful. There is no record of David ever being defeated in battle. If he went out, he won.

Aha, keyword alert—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT.

The only times David was defeated was when he stood still:

• When his son Absalom killed another of David’s sons, Amnon, David didn’t do anything. Even when Absalom returned from exile, David stayed home and didn’t reconcile with his son (2 Samuel 13-15).

• David’s son Adonijah behaved inappropriately and eventually rebelled against David, too. But David “never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” (1 Kings 1:6).

• David lusted after and then committed adultery with Bathsheba when, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. … But David remained in Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 20:1).

• David angered God by ordering that a census be taken of all of the men eligible for military service in Israel. “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, ‘Go and count…” (1 Chronicles 21:2). In other words, David stayed while others went.

Solomon correctly noted, “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave” (Proverbs 15:24). There are only two directions: forward (or up) OR backward (or down). There is no standing still.

The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT, not everywhere he stood still. To stand still is to begin to go backward.

Is there a battle you need to fight? Is there a challenge you’ve been avoiding? Is there something you need to complete? Are you waiting for something to happen? Are you content just to stand still?

Stop standing still and start going! If you are following God, He will give you victory everywhere you go.

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